UNIVERSITY  OF 
NORTH  CAROLINA 

School  of  Library 
Science 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 

lllllllf 

00022229517 


n 


/*  r    /■     % 


'/ 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://www.archive.org/details/thatsweetstoryofOOhall 


"THAT  SWEET   STORY  OF  OLD:'1 


OR, 


THE  HISTORY  OF  JESUS. 


PUBLISHED   BY  THE 
AMERICAN    TRACT    SOCIETY, 

NEW  YORK :    150  NASSAU-STREET, 
BOSTON :   28  CORNHILL. 


a 


THAT  SWEET  STORY  OF  OLD;" 

OR, 

THE  HISTORY  OF  JESUS. 


CHAPTER   I. 


A  great  many  years  ago,  a  Babe  was  born  in 
Bethlehem  of  Jndea.  His  father  and  mother  were 
poor,  and  besides,  they  were  away  from  home. 
They  did  not  live  in  Bethlehem,  and  when  that 
Babe  was  born,  they  had  to  lay  him  in  a  manger, 
out  in  the  stable,  where  horses  and  cows  had  been 
kept. 

Do  you  know  who  this  child  was  ? 

It  was  Christ,  who  made  all  things  that  were 
ever  made.     And  yet,  you  would  not  have  known 

696722 


4  -'THAT   SWEET    STORY    OF    OLD;' 

him  from  any  other  little  child.  Perhaps  he  was 
not  dressed  as  well  as  others,  for  his  mother  did  not 
have  any  thing  for  him  but  coarse  clothes,  and  these 
she  wrapped  around  him.  The  people  at  the  pub- 
lic-house thought  there  was  not  room  for  Joseph 
and  Mary  and  the  child,  in  the  house.  If  they  had 
known  that  this  little  child  was  God's  Son,  I  think 
some  of  them  would  have  offered  him  their  room. 

But  God  knew,  and  the  bright  and  beautiful 
angels  knew,  and  they  were  all  watching  him. 
And  God  wished  other  people  to  know  that  Christ 
was  born.  So  he  sent  an  angel  that  night  to  some 
men  who  were  taking  care  of  their  sheep  out  of 
doors  in  the  dark.  Perhaps  the  men  were  almost 
asleep,  as  they  sat  there  so  quietly  upon  the  ground ; 
for  when  they  saw  the  angel  standing  so  near 
them,  they  were  very  much  frightened.  But  the 
angel  told  them  not  to  be  afraid,  for  he  had  come 
to  tell  them  good  news.  Then  the  shepherds  lis- 
tened, while  the  angel  told  them  that  in  the  city  of 


OR,   THE   HISTORY  OF   JESUS, 


David,  they  would  find  a  babe  wrapped  in  coarse 
clothes,  lying  in  a  manger.  As  soon  as  the  angel 
had  said  this,  a  great  many  angels  came,  and  they 


6  "THAT   SWEET    STORY    OF   OLD;" 

all  sang  and  praised  God,  and  rejoiced,  they  were 
so  glad  that  God  had  sent  a  Saviour  to  this  wicked 
world.  The  angels  began  to  rise  as  they  sang,  and 
kept  going  up  higher  and  higher  into  the  sky,  till 
finally  they  were  out  of  sight.  They  had  gone 
back  to  heaven. 

Then  the  shepherds  said  one  to  another,  Come, 
let  us  go  to  Bethlehem,  and  see  this  Babe,  the 
Christ,  which  the  angels  have  told  us  of.  So  leav- 
ing their  sheep,  they  started  immediately  and  went 
very  fast,  talking  about  what  they  had  seen,  as 
they  walked  along  in  the  dark.  They  had  heard 
before,  that  Christ  should  be  born  at  some  time,  but 
they  did  not  expect  to  see  him  while  they  lived. 
Now  that  he  was  born  in  Bethlehem,  they  hurried 
on  to  see  him. 

Pretty  soon  they  said,  Now  we  have  come  to 
the  city;  let  us  look  till  we  find  Christ.  So  they 
went  on  through  one  street,  and  then  on  to  another, 
till  they  came  to  the  public-house.     But  they  did 


OR,    THE    HISTORY    OF    JESUS.  7 

not  find  him  there.  Then  they  looked  for  the  sta- 
ble, where  travellers  sometimes  lodged.  Soon  they 
saw  it,  and  going  lip  very  carefully  and  gently, 
they  looked  in. 

"What  do  you  suppose  they  saw  there  ?  Do  you 
think  they  found  the  babe  ?  Yes,  there  he  lay  in 
the  manger;  and  perhaps,  like  Moses  in  the  ark  of 
bulrushes,  the  babe  wept  when  they  first  saw  him. 
And  like  Moses,  too,  I  suppose  it  was  a  very  beau- 
tiful child,  though  it  was  dressed  in  such  poor 
clothes,  and  was  lying  in  such  a  poor  bed,  just  as 
the  angels  had  said.  And  there  were  Joseph  and 
Mary,  taking  care  of  him,  with  their  hearts  trem- 
bling for  the  child,  as  the  hearts  of  the  mother  and 
sister  of  Moses  in  the  bulrushes  trembled  for  him. 
Perhaps  the  bed  of  the  infant  Saviour  was  only  hay 
or  straw,  while  you,  little  children,  have  pleasant 
rooms,  and  good  soft  beds,  and  good  clothes.  Yet, 
it  may  be,  you  sometimes  complain  because  you  do 
not  have  better.     You  must  often  think  how  much 


8  "THAT    SWEET    STORY    OF    OLD;" 

better  you  fare  than  Christ  did,  although  he  was 
holy,  and  you  are  sinful. 

After  the  shepherds  had  seen  Christ,  they  went 
out  and  told  many  people  what  the  angels  had 
said,  and  that  they  had  seen  him  in  the  manger. 
I  have  no  doubt  a  great  many  went  in  when  they 
heard  that,  for  they  would  all  wish  to  see  the  Sav- 
iour. 

When  he  was  eight  days  old,  they  named  him 
"Jesus,"  which  means  Saviour.  This  name  was 
given  him  by  the  angel ;  hence  they  were  at  no  loss 
to  know  what  name  to  give  him,  as  parents  are 
now,  when  they  come  to  name  their  child. 

AVhen  he  was  about  one  month  old,  they  carried 
him  to  the  beautiful  temple  in  Jerusalem.  Here 
they  presented  him  to  the  Lord,  as  other  good  peo- 
ple did  their  little  boys.  While  they  stood  there, 
they  saw  an  old  man  coming  in.  His  hair  was  thin 
and  white,  and  he  had  a  long  white  beard  hanging 
down  upon   his  breast.     His    name  was   Simeon. 


OR,   THE   HISTORY    OF   JESUS.  9 

He  loved  God,  and  came  there  every  day  to  wor- 
ship him.  As  he  came  up  to  Joseph  and  Mary, 
God  told  him  that  the  little  child  in  Mary's  arms 
was  the  Christ,  or  the  Messiah,  which  he  had  "been 
hoping  to  see  before  he  died.  How  glad  that  old 
man  was  then.  He  said  he  wanted  to  take  him  in 
his  arms ;  so  Mary  put  the  babe  in  his  arms,  and 
he  raised  his  eyes  to  heaven  and  thanked  G-od  that 
he  had  sent  a  Saviour,  saying,  he  was  now  ready 
to  die,  for  he  had  seen  the  Christ.  Then  he  turned 
to  Mary  and  Joseph,  and  blessed  them. 

While  he  was  talking,  a  very  aged  woman, 
about  eighty-four  years  old,  came  tottering  up  to 
them.  She  was  a  good  woman,  and  worshipped 
God  in  the  temple  as  Simeon  did.  Her  name  was 
Anna ;  and  it  having  been  told  her  that  the  babe 
was  Christ,  she  too  thanked  God  for  sending  him. 

A  great  way  east  of  Bethlehem  were  some 
"wise  men;"  and  God  told  them  that  Christ  was 
born,  and  if  they  would  follow  a  very  bright  star, 


10  "THAT    SWEET    STORY    OF    OLD;" 

they  would  find  him  right  under  that  star.  So  they 
at  once  set  out,  and  after  a  long  time  they  came 
to  Jerusalem,  where  Herod  the  king  lived.  There 
they  stopped,  and  asked  for  Christ  the  King  of  the 
Jews.  When  Herod  heard  their  question,  he  was 
very  much  troubled ;  for  he  was  afraid  that  if 
Christ  was  to  be  king,  he  could  not  continue  to  be 
one.  And  so  he  said  to  himself,  that  if  he  could 
find  where  Christ  was,  he  would  kill  him.  He 
called  the  chief  priests  and  learned  men  to  him, 
and  asked  them  to  tell  him  where  the  Bible  said 
Christ  should  be  born. 

They  did  not  know  that  he  wished  to  kill  him, 
so  they  told  him  that  the  prophefc  Micah  had  said, 
in  the  Old  Testament,  that  Christ  should  be  born  in 
Bethlehem. 

Then  Herod  told  the  wise  men  to  go  there  and 
find  him,  and  then  to  come  back  and  tell  him,  for 
he  said  he  too  wished  to  go  and  worship  him. 
How  wicked  he  was  to  tell  such  a  lie.     Do  you 


OR,   THE   HISTORY   OF   JESUS.  11 

think  G-od  would  let  Herod  kill  his  clear  Son  as 
soon  as  he  came  into  this  world  ?     We  shall  see. 

The  wise  men  had  some  presents  for  Christ, 
which  they  were  keeping  carefully  for  him.  I 
think  they  had  them  wrapped  up  in  some  cloth, 
that  they  might  not  get  injured.  Sometimes  you 
hare  nice  presents  brought  yon,  do  you  not,  from 
some  friend  ?  and  you  are  always  glad  to  get  them. 
Would  you  not  like  to  have  seen  what  they  had 
for  Christ? 

The  bright  star  which  the  shepherds  had  been 
following,  finally  came  and  stood  still  over  the 
place  where  Christ  was,  and  the  wise  men  soon 
found  him,  Then  they  were  very  glad,  and  took 
the  gold,  and  some  very  costly  and  fragrant  gums 
and  spices,  which  they  had  brought  for  presents, 
and  gave  them  to  Mary,  to  keep  for  Christ,  for  he 
was  too  young  to  take  care  of  them  himself.  AYhile 
these  wrise  men  were  there,  God  told  them  not  to 
go  back  to  Herod  again ;   and  when  they  had  staid 


12  "THAT   SWEET   STORY    OF   OLD;" 

as  long  as  they  wished,  they  went  home  to  their 
own  country  another  way.  So  wicked  Herod  had 
not  yet  found  out  where  Christ  was,  though  he  was 
only  six  miles  from  where  he  lived.  You  see  how 
God  took  care  of  this  good  child,  and  how  he  can 
take  care  of  all  good  children. 

Joseph  now  began  to  think  of  going  back  to 
Nazareth,  his  home.  Perhaps  he  told  Mary  that 
they  would  start  early  the  next  morning.  But  that 
night,  while  all  around  was  still,  as  they  lay  there 
sleeping  in  the  dark,  an  angel  of  God  appeared  to 
Joseph  in  a  dream,  and  told  him  to  take  the  child 
and  its  mother,  and  go  away  to  Egypt ;  for  if  he 
went  back  to  Nazareth,  Herod  would  find  it  out, 
and  send  some  wicked  men  and  kill  Christ.  Jo- 
seph, as  soon  as  he  was  thus  awaked,  told  Mary 
what  God  had  said  to  him  in  his  dream.  But  it 
was  dark,  and  what  could  they  do?  Do  you  think 
they  would  lie  still  till  morning  ?  No,  indeed  ;  they 
got  up  immediately,  and  taking  the  blessed  child, 


OR,   THE   HISTORY   OF  JESUS.  13 

which  was  sweetly  sleeping,  they  started  off  for 
Egypt. 

As  there  were  then  but  few  horses  to  he  had, 
and  these  were  costly,  it  is  probable  that  Joseph, 
being  poor,  procured  a  mule  for  Mary  to  ride  on  as 
she  carried  Jesus,  while  Joseph  went  on  foot,  lead- 
ing the  mule. 

The  moon,  the  same  one  that  we  have  now, 
might  have  been  seen,  perhaps,  and  the  distant 
stars,  casting  a  little  light  on  the  dark  way  that 
Joseph  had  to  pick  out,  as  he  hurried  along  that 
night.  And  perhaps  there  were  wild  beasts  that 
broke  across  his  path,  and  growled  around  Joseph, 
as  he  waked  them  up  from  their  sleep.  But  he 
feared  "these  less  than  he  did  Herod ;  and  trusting 
in  G-od,  he  kept  on  his  journey. 

It  was  a  long  way  down  to  Egypt,  and  travel- 
ling so  slowly  as  they  were  obliged  to,  it  took  them 
many  days  and  nights  to  get  to  their  place  of  safety 
that  God  had  told  them  of. 


14  "THAT   S^YEET   STORY   OF   OLD;" 

Herod  became  tired  of  waiting  for  the  wise  men 
to  come  back  and  tell  him  where  Christ  was ;  but 
finding  out,  by  and  by,  that  they  had  gone  back  to 
their  own  country  another  way,  he  was  very  angry, 
and  said  he  would  kill  all  the  little  boys  that  lived 
in  Bethlehem,  that  were  not  more  than  two  years 
old.  In  this  way,  he  thought  he  would  be  sure 
to  kill  Christ,  who  he  supposed  was  still  some- 
where among  the  other  children  in  that  city.  He 
did  not  know  that  Joseph  and  Mary  were  then  on 
their  way  to  Egypt,  with  the  little  child  he  so  much 
wished  to  kill.  So  we  see  how  God  was  taking 
care  of  Jesus ;  and  when  he  takes  care  of  any  one, 
neither  wicked  people,  nor  the  wicked  spirits  in 
hell,  can  do  G-od's  precious  ones  any  harm.     ■ 

Herod  did  as  he  said  he  would,  for  he  sent  some 
cruel  men  with  knives  and  swords,  and  they  went 
into  every  house  and  found  all  the  little  boys,  and 
killed  them.  How  dreadful  this  was ;  and  how 
bad  the  mothers  must  have  felt !     I  think  we  should 


OR,   THE  HISTORY   OF   JESUS.  15 

hide  our  little  brothers  away,  if  we  could,  did  we 
know  that  some  wicked  men  were  coming  to  our 
house  to  kill  them. 

But  God  did  not  let  Herod's  wickedness  go 
without  punishing  him  for  it.  Herod  was  very- 
proud,  and  as  he  was  going  on  from  one  wicked 
thing  to  another,  he  was  all  at  once  taken  very 
sick,  so  that  he  could  not  stand  up,  he  was  in  such 
pain ;  and  before  he  died,  God  sent  worms  into  his 
flesh  that  soon  ate  him  up.  He  could  not  live  any 
longer,  for  he  had  sinned  as  much  as  God  would 
permit  him  to,  and  now  he  must  go  to  give  up  his 
account  to  God.  How  much  better  it  would  have 
been,  if  Herod  had  tried  to  do  right.  I  hope  all  the 
children  who  read  this,  will  be  careful  to  be  kind 
and  good,  like  Christ,  and  never  be  cruel,  and 
angry,  and  proud,  as  Herod  was.  Perhaps  Herod 
began  to  be  wicked  when  he  was  quite  a  little  boy, 
and  finally  became  such  a  murderer  that  God  saw 
he  was  too  wicked  to  live ;   and  so  having  smitten 


16  "THAT   SWEET   STORY   OF   OLD;" 

him  with  such  an  awful  death,  he  went  to  dwell 
for  ever  with  the  devil  and  his  wicked  angels. 

After  Joseph  and  Mary  and  the  holy  Child  had 
been  a  few  months  living  with  some  Jewish  friends 
in  Egypt,  Joseph  saw  one  night  in  his  dream,  a 
bright  and  good  angel  sent  from  heaven,  wrho  told 
him  that  Herod  was  dead,  and  that  he  might  now 
go  back  home. 

How  glad  Joseph  and  Mary  must  have  been. 
Christ  was  now  several  months  old,  and  his  mother 
loved  him  dearly,  and  took  the  kindest  care  of  him 
as  the  little  familv  travelled  towards  their  home. 

She  knew  he  was  to  be  the  Saviour,  and  that 
he  would  never  do  any  thing  wrong.  Your  moth- 
ers, dear  children,  feel  afraid  all  the  time  that  you 
will  grow  up  to  be  wicked ;  for  you  have  bad  hearts, 
and  think  wicked  thoughts,  and  these  lead  to  wick- 
ed actions.  Your  mothers  are  telling  you  every 
day  what  to  do,  and  what  you  ought  not  to  do. 
Sometimes  you  get  tired  of  being  talked  to  so  much, 


OR,   THE  HISTORY  OF   JESUS.  IT 

and  wish  you  could  do  as  you  please.  If  you  were 
holy,  like  Christ,  it  would  be  safe  to  let  you  do  as 
you  please;  but  as  long  as  you  are  wicked,  you 
need  some  kind  words  of  caution  and  correction, 
and  should  be  very  thankful  if  God  has  given  you 
a  father  or  mother  to  do  you  good. 

After  Joseph  and  Mary  reached  Nazareth,  the 
child  Jesus  grew  just  as  yon  or  any  other  little  boy 
or  girl  grows,  becoming  larger  and  larger  in  body, 
and  stronger  and  stronger  in  mind ;  for  Christ  had 
a  body  and  soul  like  us,  though  he  was  God.  We 
cannot  tell  how  he  could  be  God  and  man  too,  but 
the  Bible  says  so,  and  what  that  says  we  believe ; 
for  it  is  God's  holy  word  sent  to  us,  as  really  as  if 
your  father  should  send  his  wishes  to  yon,  written 
in  a  great  many  letters,  with  your  name  on  the 
outside. 

Nazareth,  where  Joseph  lived,  was  about  sixty 
miles  from  Jerusalem ;  but  he  went  up  to  Jerusa- 
lem every  year  to  keep  the  feast  of  the  Passover. 


Hi-t.  of  Jcsu- 


18  "THAT  SWEET  STORY   OF   OLD;" 

Do  you  remember,  my  good  children,  what  that 
feast  was  ?  I  will  tell  you.  When  God  called  the 
children  of  Israel  to  come  out  of  Egypt,  and  Pha- 
raoh would  not  let  them  go,  God  told  the  Israelites 
to  kill  a  lamb,  and  sprinkle  the  blood  upon  their 
doors ;  for  he  would  send  an  angel  that  night,  to  go 
into  every  house  where  there  was  no  blood  on  the 
door,  and  slay  the  eldest  son.  This  they  did  ;  and 
in  the  night,  when  almost  every  body  was  asleep, 
the  angel  came.  As  he  came  to  one  house,  and 
looked  on  it,  there  he  saw  the  blood,  so  he  passed 
over  that  house.  But  another  house  had  no  blood 
on  it.  It  was  an  Egyptian's  house.  So  the  angel 
went  in  and  slew  the  eldest  son.  Then  he  came 
out,  and  as  he  went  through  the  streets,  he  passed 
over  all  the  houses  where  the  blood  was,  but  he 
went  into  all  the  rest  and  slew  the  eldest  son.  An- 
gels can  go  in  if  the  doors  are  locked. 

So  when  the  Israelites  came  into  the  land  of 
Canaan,  God  told  them  to  go  to  Jerusalem  every 


OR,   THE   HISTORY   OF   JESUS.  19 

year,  in  March  or  April,  and  kill  lambs,  and  keep 
this  feast  of  the  Passover,  that  they  might  remember 
that  God  had  shown  them  such  mercy  in  Egypt. 

And  he  told  them,  too,  that  when  all  the  men 
had  gone  to  Jerusalem  to  keep  this  feast,  the  wick- 
ed nations  round  them  should  not  even  wish  to  rob 
them  of  their  lands,  or  their  possessions ;  so  they 
could  leave  home  in  safety,  and  keep  the  feast. 
Thus  God  takes  care  of  those  that  keep  his  com- 
mandments, and  thus  good  people  lose  nothing  by 
keeping  the  Sabbath-day  holy. 

When  Christ  was  twelve  years  old,  Joseph  took 
him,  with  his  mother,  and  went  up  to  Jerusalem 
to  the  Passover.  It  was  a  spring-day,  and  there 
spring  comes,  with  its  flowers  and  leaves,  earlier 
than  it  does  here  ;  and  as  the  little  family  travelled 
on,  all  things  that  God  had  made  beautiful  in  its 
season  met  their  eyes,  and  made  them  the  more 
happy  as  they  journeyed. 

The  road,  for  a  while,  wound  along  in  a  valley, 


20 


"THAT   SWEET   STORY   OF   OLD;" 


the  hills  rising'  gently  on  both  sides,  though  not 
very  high.  But  they  soon  came  to  a  plain,  from 
which  rises  mount  Tabor.  This  mountain  has  on 
it  groups  of  handsome  oak-trees,  and  a  great  many 


OR,   THE   HISTORY   OF   JEStTS.  21 

sweet  flowers,  that  look  up  meekly  under  the  trees, 
and  spread  their  leaves  to  catch  the  sunshine  and 
the  showers.  Flowers  are  sometimes  called  "  God's 
smiles,"  and  how  many  of  them  does  he  give  to 
this  wicked  world. 

There  were  also  some  wild  animals — as  fierce 
and  dreadful  as  these  flowers  are  beautiful  and 
sweet.  So  God  often  lets  good  and  bad  things 
grow  together,  and  he  made  these  flowers  just  as 
sweet  as  if  they  were  not  to  be  trodden  on  by 
the  wild  beasts.  Some  think  that  it  was  on  this 
same  mountain,  that  Christ,  when  he  was  past 
thirty  years  of  age,  went  up,  and  was  changed  into 
a  most  glorious  appearance.  But  as  they  now  went 
on  towards  the  Passover,  they  did  not  turn  aside  to 
see  what  was  in  this  mountain,  though  now  and 
then  they  could  hear  the  song  of  birds  in  the  trees, 
or  see  them  flying  about  among  the  flowers  near 
the  ground. 

They  must  have  been  several  days  in  reaching 


22  "THAT   SWEET  STORY  OF   OLD;" 

Jerusalem,  for  they  did  not  then  have  railroads  and 
steam-boats,  nor  even  stages. 

As  they  came  near  the  city,  and  were  joined  by 
a  great  many  other  families  going  to  the  same  feast, 
they  must  have  been  a  strange  and  busy  company, 
for  they  were  probably  riding  on  mules,  and  had 
on  singular-looking  dresses,  reaching  from  their 
shoulders  down  to  their  feet,  with  shoes  that  only 
covered  the  bottom  of  the  foot,  and  something  like 
a  gay-colored  handkerchief  wound  around  their 
heads.  These  were  all  making  haste  to  get  up  to 
the  golden  temple,  at  the  feast. 

Oh  how  that  beautiful  and  grand  temple  flashed 
and  glittered  as  they  came  up  in  front  of  it,  and 
saw  its  golden  pillars  and  towers  in  the  brightness 
of  the  sun.  Perhaps  Jesus  had  never  seen  it  till 
then,  and  he  admired  it  as  much  as  any  of  his  age 
that  were  there.  Those  who  saw  him  then  go  up 
joyfully  into  that  temple,  little  knew  how  much  he 
would  there  have  to  suffer  from  the  abuse  of  the 


OR,   THE   HISTORY  OF   JESUS.  23 

wicked  men  that  afterwards  would  insult  him  and 
try  to  kill  him. 

The  feast  lasted  seven  days,  and  then  the  people 
began  to  get  ready  to  return.  Some  old  men  with 
tottering  steps,  leaning  on  canes,  with  great  diffi- 
culty made  out  to  walk  from  the  temple  to  their 
wagons,  and  younger  men,  and  boys,  most  of  them 
rode  mules,  or  walked  all  the  way  home. 

Joseph  and  Mary  started  off  in  the  morning, 
along  with  some  of  their  friends  going  the  same 
way,  supposing  that  Jesus  was  in  the  company. 
On  they  went,  sometimes  halting  to  rest,  or  eat,  till 
it  was  near  night.  Then,  as  they  stopped,  they 
began  to  wonder  where  their  son  was,  Mary  asked 
a  good  many  if  they  had  seen  him,  and  Joseph  too 
looked  among  the  people,  but  they  could  not  find 
him.  How  bad  they  felt.  They  could  not  rest, 
but  started  back,  and  looked  for  him  for  three  days. 
Then  they  went  into  the  temple  again,  thinking 
he  might  be  there.     Do  you  think  he  was  ? 


24  "THAT   SWEET  STORY   OF   OLD;" 

Yes;  there  he  sat  with  some  wise  men,  talk- 
ing about  what  the  Bible  says;  sometimes  asking 
questions,  and  then  answering  these  men.  Those 
men  were  astonished  to  find  that  one  only  twelve 
years  old  should  know  so  much,  being  wiser  than 
they. 

Joseph  and  Mary  were  very  glad  when  they 
saw  him ;  and  his  mother,  going  to  him,  asked  him 
how  he  could  have  staid  there,  for  they  had  been 
looking  for  him  for  three  days,  in  great  sorrow. 
Jesus  asked  them  if  they  did  not  know  that  he  must 
be  about  his  Father's  business.  He  meant,  that  he 
must  be  doing  what  God  wished  him  to  do.  But 
he  went  back  with  them,  and  lived  at  Nazareth  a 
good  many  years,  and  perhaps  worked  with  Joseph, 
who  was  a  carpenter.  At  length  he  became  thirty 
years  old. 


OR,   THE  HISTORY   OF  JESUS.  25 


CHAPTER   II. 

Now  Christ  had  a  cousin,  who  was  about  six 
months  older  than  himself,  who  was  called  John 
the  Baptist.  Some  people  thought  that  John  was 
the  Messiah  or  Saviour,  who  was  to  come ;  but  he 
told  them  he  was  not,  but  that  he  would  soon  point 
out  the  Christ  to  them. 

One  day  when  John  was  baptizing  some  people 
in  the  river  Jordan,  Christ  came  there  among  them, 
and  asked  to  be  baptized.  At  first,  John  did  not 
like  to  do  it,  but  told  Christ  that  he  had  need  to  be 
baptized  by  him.  But  Jesus  told  John,  that  as  he 
was  now  going  to  be  baptized  to  fulfil  all  the  Jew- 
ish law,  the  request  he  had  made  was  right.  So 
John  baptized  him. 

As  Christ  came  up  out  of  the  water,  the  sky 
opened  so  that  it  seemed  as  if  they  could  look  up 

4- 


26  ''THAT   SWEET   STORY   OF   OLD;" 

into  heaven,  and  they  saw  something  bright  com- 
ing down  like  a  dove,  and  it  rested  upon  Christ's 
head.  It  was  the  Holy  Spirit.  Then  John  pointed 
to  Jesus,  and  said  to  those  who  stood  by,  "Behold 
the  Lamb  of  God !"  and  a  voice  also  came  to  them 
from  heaven,  which  said,  "  Thou  art  my  beloved 
Son."  So  God  the  Father,  God  the  Son,  and  God 
the  Holy  Spirit,  were  there  at  the  baptism,  and 
"these  three  are  one  God." 

The  Saviour  was  now  about  to  begin  to  preach, 
and  to  go  about  doing  good.  But  that  wicked  one, 
called  the  Devil,  was  all  the  while  watching  him, 
and  thinking  how  he  might  make  him  sin.  He 
knew  if  Christ  should  do  even  one  wrong  thing,  he 
could  not  save  any  body  from  hell;  and  Satan 
wants  to  get  as  many  there  as  he  can,  that  he  may 
torment  them  night  and  day,  for  ever  and  ever. 

That  is  why  he  told  Eve  such  lies  about  the 
fruit  in  the  garden;  and  that  is  why  he  tries  to 
make  little  children  tell  wrong  stories,  and  disobey 


OR,   THE   HISTORY  OF   JESUS.  27 

their  parents.  He  is  as  anxious  to  get  us  in  his 
power,  as  a  hungry  lion  is  to  devour  his  prey. 

One  day  Satan  saw  Christ  going  up  into  a  wil- 
derness alone,  and  he  thought  it  would  he  a  good 
time  to  go  to  him  and  tempt  him  to  sin.  There 
were  wild  beasts  there,  but  Christ  passed  on  safely 
among  these  wild  animals,  which  were  not  as 
much  enraged  at  him  as  Satan  was,  who  followed 
Christ  like  a  lion  that  means  soon  to  jump  upon  a 
lamb. 

Soon  the  devil  came  up  to  Christ,  and  changed 
his  looks,  and  tried  to  seem  as  one  of  G-od's  good 
angels.  And  then  he  tried  to  make  Christ  think 
evil  thoughts.  This  he  did  forty  days,  but  he  did 
not  make  Christ  sin.  Then  when  he  knew  that 
Christ  was  very  hungry,  having  eaten  nothing  all 
the  forty  days,  he  told  him  to  turn  some  stones  into 
bread.  The  Son  of  Grod  could  easily  have  done  it, 
but  knowing  it  would  not  be  right  to  work  a  mira- 
cle to  please  the  devil,  he  would  not  do  so. 


28  "THAT   SWEET   STORY    OF    OLD;" 

Then  the  evil  one  followed  Christ  as  he  went  to 
Jerusalem,  and  when  He  was  gone  up  on  one  of  the 
towors  of  the  temple,  the  devil  told  him  that  it 
would  not  hurt  him  if  he  should  throw  himself 
down,  for  G-od  would  send  an  angel  to  catch  him 
hefore  he  struck  the  ground.  But  Christ  would 
not  do  this  either,  to  please  Satan. 

Then  the  tempter,  as  the  devil  is  called,  thought 
he  would  try  to  get  Christ  to  sin  by  offering  to  give 
him  a  great  many  things,  which  he  would  show 
him.  So  he  led  him  up  into  a  very  high  mountain, 
and  pointed  to  all  the  cities  and  villages,  and  beau- 
tiful lands  and  fields  and  gardens,  and  told  Christ 
that  he  would  give  him  all  these,  if  he  would  fall 
down  and  worship  him.  Christ  was  poor,  and  had 
not  any  place  to  lay  his  head  on  his  own  pillow  at 
night.  He  had  no  house,  or  garden,  or  money. 
But  instead  of  worshipping  the  devil  for  the  sake  of 
all  his  gifts,  Christ  rebuked  him,  and  turning  round 
with  a  look  of  majesty,  cried,  "  G-et  thee  behind  me, 


OR,   THE   HISTORY   OF   JESUS.  29 

Satan ;  for  it  is  written ,  Thou  shalt  not  tempt  the 
Lord  thy  God." 

When  the  devil  had  gone,  Christ  saw  around 
him  many  beautiful  beings  whom  he  knew  to  be 
angels  from  heaven,  whom  God  had  sent  to  tell 
him  how  his  Father  loved  him,  and  to  strengthen 
him. 

I  hope  all  children,  when  they  think  of  doing 
something  wrong,  will  remember  that  the  devil  is 
close  by  them,  whispering  in  their  ear,  and  waiting 
to  see  if  they  are  going  to  please  him.  See  if  you 
cannot  do  as  Jesus  did.  Trust  in  Him  to  help  you, 
and  tell  the  wicked  one,  "No,  no5  never."  And 
then  he  will  go  away  ashamed,  and  God's  good 
angels  will  come,  and  happy  thoughts  will  spring 
up  in  your  breast. 

Perhaps  it  will  help  you  to  be  good,  if  I  tell  you 
how  Christ  loved  good  children.  He  had  been 
preaching  a  sermon,  and  before  he  went  away 
some  good  people  thought  they  would  like  to  have 


30  "THAT   SWEET   STORY  OF   OLD;" 

him  bless  their  little  children.  So  they  brought 
them  to  him,  and  as  they  were  drawing  near, 
some  of  the  grown  people  told  the  parents  that 
Christ  did  not  wish  to  be  troubled  with  saying 
any  thing  to  their  children.  But  the  Saviour 
reached  out  his  hands  to  the  children,  and  spoke 
kindly  to  them,  and  took  them  in  his  arms,  and 
blessed  them,  and  said,  "Suffer  the  little  children 
to  come  unto  me;  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of 
heaven."  So  he  loves  all  good  children;  and  if 
you  were  good,  and  if  Christ  were  here  now,  he 
would  love  to  put  his  hand  gently  on  your  head, 
and  bless  you. 

At  one  time  when  Christ  was  in  a  little  village 
called  Cana,  a  man  who  was  thought  very  much 
of,  came  to  him  from  Capernaum,  and  told  him  that 
his  little  son  was  very  sick,  and  that  the  physicians 
could  not  cure  him ;  but  that  if  He  would  go  with 
him,  he  thought  He  could  make  him  well.  So  he 
begged  Christ  to  go  with  him,  and  cure  the  boy, 


OR,   THE   HISTORY   OF   JESUS.  31 

for  he  was  very  near  death.  "  Come  down,"  he 
said,  "ere  my  child  die." 

Did  Christ  go,  think  you?  No;  but  he  told  the 
father  to  go  home,  for  his  son  would  live.  The  man 
believed  what  Jesus  said,  and  was  very  glad,  and 
made  haste  to  go  back.  But  before  he  came  to  his 
house,  he  saw  his  servant  coming  rapidly  towards 
him.  And  how  astonished  and  rejoiced  he  was,  to 
hear  the  servant  say  that  the  child  was  well! 
And  when  he  came  into  the  house,  there  was  his 
dear  boy,  whom  he  took  in  his  arms,  and  gave 
thanks  to  Jesus  in  his  heart  that  he  was  cured. 
He  was  healed  the  very  moment  that  Christ  said 
he  would  get  well.  How  wonderful  this  was,  that 
Christ  could  cure  a  boy  when  he  was  so  far  from 
him. 

Do  you  not  think  that  if  you  were  sick,  he 
could  cure  you  ?  Yes,  indeed  he  could ;  and  if  you 
and  your  friends  should  pray  to  him  in  faith  as  the 
nobleman  prayed  for  his  son,  you  might  hope  to 


32 


"THAT    SWEET    STORY    OF    OLD;" 


be  cured.  Though  Christ  is  away  up  in  heaven, 
he  can  cure  people  here  on  this  earth,  he  is  so  good 
and  so  great. 

Another  day,  Christ  and  his  disciples,  and  a 


OR,   THE   HISTORY   OF    JESUS.  33 

great  many  other  people,  were  going  into  a  small 
city  called  Xain.  But  all  at  once  they  saw  a  sad 
company  coming  out  of  a  house,  and  walking  down 
the  street  towards  them. 

There  was  one  woman  in  the  sad  company  that 
was  weeping  and  wringing  her  hands,  as  she  kept 
turning  towards  a  bier,  or  coffin,  which  some  of  her 
friends  were  carrying  carefully  and  solemnly  along. 
She  was  the  chief  mourner,  and  in  that  coffin  was 
her  son.  Her  husband  was  dead,  and  she  had  no 
other  son.  This  poor  widow  woman  kept  thinking 
that  her  clear  boy  was  gone,  and  she  should  never 
see  him  again,  and  that  alter  he  was  laid  in  the 
grave,  by  the  side  of  his  father,  she  must  return  to 
her  house,  and  live  there  alone. 

And  now  see  how  good  and  merciful  the  Sav- 
iour was ;  for  he  went  to  the  woman,  and  told  her 
not  to  weep;  and  as  he  spoke,  he  laid  his  hand 
upon  the  coffin,  and  the  men  carrying  it  stood 
still.     What  do  you  suppose  he  was  going  to  do? 

Hi«t.  of  J*su»  5 


34  "THAT   SWEET    STORY   OF   OLD;" 

The  people  looked  at  Christ,  not  knowing-  what 
to  think.  Then  he  spoke  aloud  to  the  dead  hody, 
and  said,  "Young  man,  I  say  unto  thee,  arise!" 
And  he  sat  up,  and  opened  his  eyes,  and  began  to 
talk. 

The  people  were  afraid  and  astonished,  for  they 
had  never  seen  such  a  miracle  before.  And  when 
they  had  loosened  his  grave-clothes,  so  that  he 
might  use  his  arms  and  his  feet,  He  gave  him  to 
his  mother.  Oh  how  thankful  she  was,  and  how 
much  she  and  her  son  must  have  loved  Jesus 
Christ,  for  raising  him  to  life. 

Do  you  remember  any  other  dead  people  that 
were  raised  to  life  by  the  blessed  Saviour  ? 

There  was  a  little  girl  who  lived  at  Capernaum, 
who  was  very  sick,  and  was  dying.  Her  father 
went  for  Christ,  and  when  Christ  came  he  found 
her  dead,  and  the  people  weeping  over  her.  Christ 
hurried  on  through  the  crowd  towards  the  corpse, 
and  told  them  she  should  be  raised  to  life.     These 


OR,   THE   HISTORY   OF   JESUS.  35 

wicked  people  laughed  at,  and  scorned  him.  But 
he  did  not  mind  that,  if  only  he  might  give  back 
that  little  daughter  to  her  distressed  father  and 
mother.  And  as  soon  as  he  got  into  the  room 
where  she  was  lying  dead,  he  took  hold  of  her  pale, 
cold  little  hand,  and  she  opened  her  eyes,  that  again 
grew  bright  and  happy  as  she  went  to  her  parent's 
arms.     Oh  how  good  Jesus  is. 

And  now  I  am  going  to  tell  of  one  who  was 
brought  to  life  again,  after  he  was  buried  in  his 
grave.     Perhaps  you  remember  the  story. 

His  name  was  Lazarus,  and  he  had  two  sisters. 
Martha  and  Mary,  who  were  much  beloved  by  the 
Saviour,  and  who  loved  him  in  return.  When  it 
was  told  Christ,  who  was  many  miles  distant,  that 
their  brother  Lazarus  was  dead,  he  did  not  seem 
to  be  anxious  to  raise  him  from  the  dead  immedi- 
ately; for  he  did  not  set  out  at  once  to  go  to  the 
grave.  But  he  meant  all  the  time  to  do  it,  after 
he  had  made  his  sisters  see  fully  that  no  one  else 


36  "THAT   SWEET   STORY    OF   OLD;" 

could  help  them ;  and  so  after  he  had  heen  dead 
and  huried  three  days  in  a  grave  in  the  side  of  a 
cave,  Christ  went  to  them,  and  came  up  to  the 
great  stone  that  was  lying  at  the  grave's  mouth, 
and  told  the  people  to  roll  away  the  stone.  Mar- 
tha and  Mary  were  all  the  time  weeping,  and 
Christ  wept  too,  as  he  saw  how  sorry  they  were 
that  their  brother  wras  dead.  Besides,  he  himself 
loved  their  brother  very  much,  and  Lazarus  loved 
Christ. 

As  soon  as  the  stone  was  rolled  away,  Christ 
lifted  up  his  eyes  in  prayer  to  God,  and  then  turned 
and  called  to  the  dead  man  to  come  out  of  his 
grave.  In  a  moment  the  blood  began  to  move 
again  in  his  wrhole  body,  and  his  pulse  to  beat. 
Then  his  eyes  opened,  and  the  man  came  out  with 
his  grave-clothes  on  him,  and  his  face  covered  with 
a  napkin. 

Christ  told  them  to  take  off  his  grave-clothes; 
and  with  much  joy,  and  with  fear  too,  they  did  it ; 


OR,   THE  HISTORY  OF   JESUS.  37 

and  he  was  able  to  walk,  and  went  home  with  his 
sisters,  and  all  was  joy  and  praise.  "What  a  happy 
house  that  was ;  I  do  not  wonder  that  they  made 
a  feast,  to  which  they  invited  Christ,  where  they 
all  sat  down  to  a  happy  table. 

Now,  children,  if  Christ  could  call  Lazarus  to 
life  from  his  grave,  so  can  he  all  the  dead ;  and 
hereafter  he  will  come  from  heaven,  with  the  sound 
of  a  trump,  and  all  the  dead,  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, will  come  to  life,  and  go  up  to  the  judgment. 


38  "THAT  SWEET  STORY   OF   OLD;;' 


CHAPTER   III. 

When  the  governors  and  the  priests  of  the  Jews, 
who  were  wicked  men,  heard  that  Christ  had  raised 
Lazarus  from  the  dead,  they  all  came  together,  and 
said,  Now,  if  he  does  such  miracles,  and  we  let  him 
alone,  every  body  will  believe  on  him,  and  love 
him.  They  did  not  wish  to  think  he  was  the  Son 
of  God,  or  that  any  one  else  should  think  so. 

One  great  man  said,  he  thought  they  had  better 
seize  him  and  put  him  to  death;  and  the  rest 
thought  that  would  be  the  easiest  way  to  get  rid  of 
him,  and  so  they  were  willing  to  hire  some  very 
bad  man  to  do  it  for  them. 

The  devil  was  pleased  when  he  heard  the  men 
talking  in  that  way,  and  he  was  ready  to  help 
them,  for  he  was  trying  all  the  while  to  make 
Christ  all  the  trouble  and  sorrow  he  could. 


OR.   THE  HISTORY   OF   JESUS.  39 

But  Jesus  knew  that  the  people  were  trying  to 
put  him  to  death ;  so  he  would  not  stay  in  the  city, 
but  went  away  to  a  Tillage  called  Ephraim,  where 
the  people  could  not  find  him. 

It  was  then  almost  time  for  another  Passover, 
and  as  the  people  began  to  come  to  Jerusalem,  they 
said  one  to  another,  Do  you  know  where  Jesus  is  ? 
I  wonder  whether  he  will  come  to  the  Passover  ? 

Some  thought  he  would,  while  others  said  they 
did  not  know.  The  chief  priests  who  pretended  to 
worship  G-od,  and  the  Pharisees  who  were  very 
wicked,  told  the  people  that  if  they  knew  where 
Christ  was,  they  must  tell  of  it,  that  they  might 
take  him.  Would  you  have  told,  little  child,  if 
you  had  been  there,  where  Jesus  was  ?  I  think 
not. 

About  six  days  before  the  Passover,  he  came  to 
Bethany ;  and  Martha  and  Mary,  who  lived  there, 
and  who  were  very  glad  to  have  him  visit  them, 
made  him  a  supper.     This  was  very  kind  in  them, 


40 


"THAT   SWEET   STORY   OF   OLD;" 


and  I  do  not  wonder  at  it,  for  there  at  the  very- 
table,  near  Christ,  as  they  waited  on  him,  sat  Laz- 
arus, whom  he  had  raised  from  the  dead.  His  dis- 
ciples were  there  too. 

Mary  came  in  while  they  were  eating,  with  a 
very  costly  box  in  her  hand.     She  opened  it,  and 


OR,   THE   HISTORY   OF  JESUS.  41 

poured  part  of  the  ointment,  which  smelled  very 
sweetly,  upon  Christ's  head;  and  with  the  rest  she 
anointed  his  feet,  and  wiped  them  with  her  hair. 
The  whole  house  was  filled  with  a  sweet  smell. 
She  did  this  hecause  she  loved  him  so  much;  hut 
some  of  the  disciples  did  not  like  it,  and  Judas  said 
it. might  have  been  sold  for  a  great  deal  of  money, 
and  given  to  the  poor.  But  all  he  wanted  "was  the 
money,  for  he  was  a  thief,  and  took  all  he  could  get. 

A  great  many  of  the  Jews  heard  that  Christ 
was  in  Bethany,  and  ceane  together  not  only  to  see 
Christ,  hut  Lazarus  also,  who  had  been  raised  from 
the  dead.  I  think,  children,  that  you  would  walk 
many  miles,  if  you  could  see  a  man  who  had  been 
raised  from  the  dead. 

The  chief  priests  were  very  angry  because  peo- 
ple would  go  to  look  at  Lazarus,  and  they  said  they 
would  kill  him  too,  if  they  could. 

The  next  day  Christ  said  he  was  going  to  Jeru- 
salem ;  and  when  the  people  in  Jerusalem  knew  he 


42  "THAT   SWEET   STORY   OF   OLD;" 

was  coming,  a  great  many  broke  off  branches  from 
the  palm-trees,  and  went  towards  Bethany,  to  meet 
him,  and  spread  the  wide  and  beautiful,  green 
palm-leaves  in  the  road ;  and  some  were  so  much 
rejoiced,  that  they  took  off  their  coats,  and  spread 
them  down  for  Christ  to  ride  over  them ;  and  they, 
and  the  children  who  were  also  there,  were  very 
glad  to  see  Christ,  and  sang,  "Hosanna,"  and 
praised  him. 

"Would  you  not  like  to  have  been  among  those 
happy  children,  and  have  given  something  to 
Christ  ?  Perhaps  you  would  feel  as  if  you  had  not 
any  thing  good  enough  for  Christ ;  and  indeed  you 
have  not ;  but  you  have  one  thing  which  he  wants, 
and  which  you  can  give  him  now,  and  that  is,  your 
heart  and  love. 

But  the  chief  priests  were  all  the  time  watching 
Christ,  and  wishing  to  kill  him,  and  would  have 
then  taken  him,  if  he  had  not  had  so  many  friends, 
who  kept  them  from  touching  him. 


OR,   THE   HISTORY  OF   JESUS.  43 

You  remember  that  he  had  twelve  disciples, 
who  went  with  him  wherever  he  went.  One  of 
them,  whose  name  was  Judas,  into  whom  Satan 
entered,  went  away  to  the  chief  priests,  and  asked 
them  very  secretly,  what  they  would  give  him,  if  he 
would  find  Christ  and  deliver  him  up  to  them. 
Then  those  wicked  men  were  glad,  and  told  Judas, 
that  if  he  would  help  them  take  him,  they  would 
give  him  thirty  pieces  of  silver.  This  was  about 
fifteen  dollars.  Judas  loved  money  more  than  he 
loved  Christ,  and  said  he  would  help  them  catch 
him.  Then  every  day  after  that,  he  was  watching 
to  find  a  good  opportunity  to  betray  him. 

Do  you  think  Christ  knew  they  were  trying  to 
get  him  ?  Yes,  he  did ;  but  he  came  into  the  world 
on  purpose  to  die  for  sinners,  and  he  wished  to  do 
it.  He  knew  how  he  would  have  to  suffer ;  but  he 
loved  us  all  so  much  that  he  went  up  to  Jerusalem, 
where  they  were  going  to  kill  him. 

But  just  bpfore  he  went  up  to  the  Passover,  he 


44  "THAT   SWEET   STORY   OF   OLD;" 

told  Peter  and  John  to  go  into  the  city,  and  they 
would  meet  a  man  walking  along  with  a  pitcher  of 
water  in  his  hand,  and  they  must  follow  him  into 
his  house,  and  ask  him  for  a  room  up  stairs,  for 
Christ  and  his  disciples  to  eat  the  Passover  in. 

Pretty  soon,  as  they  went  along  the  streets,  they 
met  a  man  with  a  pitcher  of  water,  just  as  Christ 
had  said,  and  they  said  to  him  wmat  Christ  had 
told  them  to.  Then  the  man  took  them  up  stairs, 
and  showed  them  a  room;  and  there  they  roasted 
the  lamh,  and  made  it  ready  for  the  feast.  They 
also  had  some  bread  and  wine. 

In  the  evening,  Christ  came  and  sat  down  to 
the  table,  and  the  twelve  disciples  with  him.  Yes, 
the  wicked  Judas  sat  down  and  pretended  to  love 
Christ,  though  he  had  secretly  agreed  to  give  him 
up  to  the  priests,  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver. 

Then  Christ  began  to  talk  with  his  disciples. 
He  told  them  how  he  had  wished  to  eat  the  Pass- 
over with  them  once  more  before  he  died,  and  that 


OR,   THE   HISTORY   OF   JESUS.  45 

he  should  not  be  with  them  long,  for  the  wicked 
people  would  soon  put  him  to  death.  Then  he 
looked  round  on  his  disciples,  and  was  very  sad, 
and  said,  "  One  of  you  which  eateth  with  me  shall 
betray  me." 

His  disciples  were  astonished.  Can  it  be  possi- 
ble ?  they  said.  Oh  how  sorry  they  felt  to  hear 
Christ  say  so.  They  sat  and  thought  about  it, 
and  looked  at  each  other ;  and  then  one  looked 
up  very  sad,  as  if  almost  afraid  to  ask,  and  said, 
"Lord,  is  it  I?"  Then  another  said,  "Lord,  is  it 
I?"  And  finally,  Judas  looked  up  and  said,  "Lord, 
is  it  I?" 

Christ  told  them  it  was  the  one  to  whom  he 
should  give  a  piece  of  bread,  when  he  had  dipped 
it  in  the  dish.  So  he  took  it  and  gave  it  to  Judas. 
Judas  was  afraid  all  the  time  that  it  would  come  to 
him,  for  he  felt  guilty ;  and  as  soon  as  he  took  it, 
he  got  r.p  from  the  table  and  went  out.  Perhaps 
he  thought  he  would  hide  away  in  the  dark,  for  it 


46  "TIIAT   SWEET   STORY. OF   OLD;" 

was  night.  But  he  was  still  very  miserable,  as  we 
shall  by  and  by  see. 

Sometimes,  when  any  of  our  friends  are  going 
away,  they  give  us  something  to  remember  them 
by.  So  Christ  was  now  going  to  give  his  friends 
something  by  which  they  might  remember  him. 
This  is  called  the  Lord's  Supper.  Christ  took  the 
bread,  and  prayed  with  it  in  his  hand ;  then  he  broke 
it  into  small  pieces,  and  gave  each  of  his  disciples 
some  of  it,  and  said  that  they  must  remember,  as  oft 
as  they  should  eat  the  Lord's  Supper,  that  his  body 
had  been  broken  for  them  when  he  died  for  sinners. 

Then  he  took  a  cup  of  wine,  and  prayed,  and 
handed  it  to  his  disciples,  and  told  them  all  to  drink 
a  little  of  it,  and  to  remember  that  his  blood  was 
poured  out  for  them  when  he  died. 

You  have  often  seen  people  eat  bread  and  drink 
wine  in  church,  have  you  not  ?  They  do  it  because 
Christ  told  all  his  people  to  do  so;  and  then  they 
remember  all  about  him. 


OR,    THE    HISTORY    OF    JESUS.  47 

"Well,  when  his  disciples  were  eating  with  Christ 
in  that  upper  room  in  Jerusalem,  he  sat  and  talked 
with  them,  and  told  them  to  love  one  another,  and 
that  by  and  by,  after  he  should  die,  he  would  come 
in  the  clouds  of  heaven  and  take  them  up  to  him- 
self in  glory.  After  he  had  talked  with  them  some 
time,  he  prayed  with  them  and  for  them;  and  he 
prayed  for  all  who  should  ever  love  him.  So  if  you, 
my  dear  children,  love  Christ,  part  of  that  prayer 
was  especially  for  you.  How  kind  the  Saviour  was 
to  think  of  us  all,  just  as  he  was  about  to  die. 

But  where  do  you  think  Judas  was,  all  this 
while?  After  he  went  out  into  the  dark,  he  stole 
away  to  the  chief  priests,  and  told  them  that  now 
was  a  good  time  to  take  Christ :  and  they  were  get- 
ting some  soldiers  and  officers  ready,  with  swords 
and  torches,  while  Christ  was  there  praying.  The 
disciples  did  not  know  it,  but  Christ  did,  for  he 
could  see  all  things. 

After  Christ  had  finished  his  prayer,  he  went 


48  "THAT    SWEET    STORY    OF   OLD;' 

with  his  disciples  into  a  garden  in  the  mount  of 
Olives,  about  one  mile  east  of  Jerusalem.  He  had 
often  been  there  before  to  pray,  and  Judas  knew 
very  w^ell  where  it  was.  As  Christ  walked  along, 
he  talked  to  them  very  kindly,  but  told  them  that 
that  night  they  would  all  leave  him  and  be  ashamed 
to  own  him  as  their  Lord.  Then  they  were  all 
astonished,  and  said  they  never  would  deny  or  for- 
sake him;  and  Peter  said,  if  the  rest  should  all 
forsake  him,  he  never  would — that  he  would  go  to 
prison  with  Christ,  and  to  death,  but  he  would 
never  deny  him. 

Christ  looked  at  him  sorrowfully,  and  told  him 
he  would  deny  him  three  times  that  night.  Christ 
told  him  that  Satan  had  desired  to  have  him,  that 
he  might  make  him  sin.  But  Christ  said  he  had 
prayed  for  him,  and  that  Peter  would  come  back  to 
him  after  Satan  had  tried  him. 

When  they  came  into  the  garden,  Christ  said  to 
his  disciples,  "  Sit  ye  here,  while  I  go  and  pray." 


OR,    THE   HISTORY    OF   JESUS.  49 

So  taking  Peter  and  James  and  John,  he  went  a 
little  further  off,  to  pray.  And  he  began  to  feel 
very  heavy  indeed.  He  could  hardly  stand  up,  he 
felt  so  distressed.  "What  made  him  feel  so?  It 
was  because  he  saw  how  much  he  would  have  to 
suffer  for  sinners.  He  had  to  take  the  punishment 
of  our  sins  upon  himself,  that  we  might  be  saved. 

Then  he  told  Peter  and  James  and  John  that 
his  soul  was  "very  sorrowful,  even  unto  death;" 
and  asked  them  to  stay  there  and  watch  with  him. 
Then  he  walked  slowly  along  a  little  way,  and 
kneeled  down,  and  began  to  pray ;  he  soon  fell  upon 
his  face,  and  asked  God,  if  it  were  possible,  to  save 
him  from  suffering  so  much;  but  yet  he  added, 
"Not  my  will,  but  thine  be  done." 

"When  he  had  prayed,  he  went  back  to  Peter  and 
James  and  John,  and  there  they  lay  asleep!  He 
spoke  to  Peter,  and  asked  him  if  he  could  not  watch 
one  hour,  when  he  was  suffering  so  much.  And 
then  telling  them  to  pray  that  they  might  not  do 


50  ''THAT   SWEET   STORY   OF   OLD;" 


any  thing  wrong,  he  went  away  again  and  prayed, 
and  again  came  back  to  these  three  disciples,  when, 
strange  to  say,  he  found  them  again  asleep ! 

Then  he  went  back,  and  he  felt  more  distressed 


OR,   THE  HISTORY   OF   JESUS.  51 

than  before.  He  was  in  an  agony,  and  was  so  full 
of  pain  that  "  his  sweat  was  as  great  drops  of  blood 
falling  down  to  the  ground."  Then  his  body  began 
to  sink ;  and  in  a  little  while  perhaps  he  would 
have  died,  but  G-od  strengthened  him. 

Just  think  of  Christ  lying  on  the  ground  covered 
with  a  bloody  sweat,  pale  and  scarcely  breathing. 
0  how  strange  that  they  did  not  watch  with  him; 
and  when  they  heard  him  groaning,  go  to  him  to 
comfort  him. 

When  he  had  prayed  the  third  time,  he  came  to 
his  disciples,  who  were  still  sleeping,  and  having 
waked  them  up,  he  told  them  that  Judas  and  the 
wicked  people  were  almost  there,  and  would  take 
him  in  a  few  minutes.  Then  they  sprang  up  ;  and 
a  little  way  off  they  saw  a  great  many  men  coming 
with  bright  torches  burning,  and  they  had  swords 
and  canes. 

Pretty  soon  Judas  stepped  up  to  Christ,  and 
spoke  kindly,  and  kissed  him.     The  soldiers  would 


52  "THAT   SWEET   STORY   OF   OLD;" 

not  know  Jesus;  so  Judas  told  them,  I  will  kiss 
him,  and  then  you  will  know  which  one  to  take. 
So  as  soon  as  Judas  kissed  Christ,  the  soldiers  came 
and  took  hold  of  him.  Peter  would  not  stand  and 
see  Christ  taken  without  trying  to  save  him ;  so  he 
took  a  sword  and  struck  at  a  man,  and  cut  his  ear 
off.  Christ  did  not  wish  him  to  do  that,  so  he  told 
him  to  put  the  sword  aw^ay.  Then  he  put  out  his 
hand  and  made  the  man's  ear  well  again. 

Christ  did  not  want  to  do  them  any  harm;  and 
how  could  they  wish  to  lead  him  away  and  kill 
him! 

The  disciples  were  now  very  much  afraid,  and 
when  they  saw  so  many  people  leading  Christ  away, 
they  "all  forsook  him,  and  fled." 

So  he  was  alone  with  all  those  wicked  men,  and 
they  took  him  to  the  chief  priests.  After  a  while, 
Peter  turned  and  followed  slowly  along,  watching 
to  see  what  they  were  going  to  do  to  Christ.  They 
led  him  into  a  large  hall,  a  place  where  they  used 


OR,   THE  HISTORY  OF   JESUS.  53 

to  meet,  and  there  they  tried  to  find  Christ  guilty 
of  something,  that  they  might  put  him  to  death. 

Peter  and  John  came  then  too,  and  a  servant 
told  Peter  that  he  was  one  of  Christ's  disciples. 
But  he  said  he  was  not.  After  a  while,  another 
person  told  him  that  he  was,  hut  he  said  again  that 
he  was  not.  Then  sometime  after,  a  girl  who  was 
there  turned  to  some  of  the  wicked  people,  and  said, 
pointing  to  Peter,  that  he  was  with  Jesus.  Peter 
was  very  much  frightened,  for  he  thought  they 
would  take  him  too,  so  he  began  to  curse  and 
swear,  and  said  he  did  not  know  the  man.  He 
knew  that  those  who  loved  G-od  would  not  swear, 
and  he  thought  they  would  now  believe  he  was  not 
a  disciple  of  Jesus. 

Then  Christ  turned  and  looked  at  Peter,  and  he 
felt  so  grieved  that  he  went  out  and  "wept  bit- 
terly." Christ  forgave  him ;  and  ever  after  that, 
Peter  was  a  good  man,  and  loved  Christ  so  much 
that  a  good  many  years  after,  he  was  put  to  death 


54  "THAT   SWEET   STORY   OF   OLD;" 

as  a  martyr — and  some  think  he  was  nailed  to  a 
cross  with  his  head  downwards,  for  he  said  he  was 
not  worthy  to  die  as  his  Saviour  did. 

After  they  had  asked  Christ  a  good  many  ques- 
tions, and  could  not  find  any  thing  against  him, 
they  hired  some  bad  men  to  tell  lies  about  him ;  so 
they  said  he  should  be  put  to  death,  and  led  him 
away  out  of  the  city,  till  they  came  to  a  place 
where  wicked  men  were  crucified.  The  soldiers 
were  all  the  time  watching  him,  for  fear  he  would 
try  to  get  away;  but  he  went  as  patiently  as  a 
lamb  is  led  to  the  slaughter;  for  he  gave  himself 
up  to  them  on  purpose  to  die  for  sinners.  He  might 
very  easily  have  got  away  himself,  or  have  called 
the  angels  to  come  and  help  him;  for  he  said  that 
if  he  should  pray  for  it,  God  would  send  more  than 
twelve  legions  of  angels  to  help  him.  I  think  the 
sky  was  full  of  them,  anxiously  looking  at  Christ 
their  God;  and  they  wanted  to  fly  to  bear  him 
away  from  those  cruel  men,  and  carry  him  up  to 


OR,   THE   HISTORY   OF   JESUS.  55 

heaven.  But  Christ  would  not  let  them  take  him 
up  yet.  After  his  death,  then  they  might  carry 
him  up,  and  cry,  "  Lift  up  your  heads,  0  ye  gates, 
and  the  King  of  glory  shall  come  in." 

When  the  wicked  men  had  led  Christ  out  of  the 
city  to  the  place  where  they  wanted  to  kill  him, 
they  took  off  his  clothes,  and  laying  him  down  on 
a  cross — which  was  made  of  two  pieces  of  wood 
crossing  each  other — they  drove  a  large  nail  into 
each  hand,  and  another  into  his  feet,  and  then  lifted 
up  the  cross  with  the  Saviour  on  it,  and  made  it 
stand  up  in  the  ground. 

Then  they  sat  down  near  by  .and  watched  him. 
Some  of  them  asked  who  were  going  to  have  his 
clothes ;  and  others  said  they  would  cast  lots  for 
them :  and  so,  like  men  gambling  for  money,  they 
parted  and  distributed  his  clothes  by  casting  lots 
for  them. 

Christ's  disciples,  and  his  mother,  and  a  good 
many  more  people,  were  there  weeping  and  mourn- 


56 


THAT   SWEET  STORY   OF    OLD;-' 


ing.  But  he  looking  down,  and  seeing  his  mother 
bathed  in  tears,  and  John  standing  near,  told  her 
that  John  would  be  her  son  now ;  and  then  he  told 
him  to  take  her  for  his  mother,  which  he  did,  and 
took  care  of  her  after  that.     How  kind  Christ  was 


OR,   THE   HISTORY    OF   JESUS.  57 

to  his  mother.  I  wonder  if  any  of  my  young  read- 
ers will  ever  do  any  thing  again  to  grieve  their 
mothers. 

When  it  was  twelve  o'clock,  at  noon,  it  hegan 
to  he  very  dark,  and  was  so  till  three.  This  fright- 
ened the  people.  They  said  this  was  God's  Son, 
and  he  is  angry  with  us.  Soon  Jesus  cried  with  a 
loud  voice.  "  My  God.  my  God,  why  hast  thou  for- 
saken  me  ?"  Then  he  said,  i;  It  is  finished/'  and 
died.  And  the  earth  shook,  and  the  rocks  were 
torn  asunder,  and  the  graves  opened,  and  the  dead 
people  came  out  of  them  alive,  and  walked  around 
the  city,  after  a  few  days,  when  Christ  came  to  life 
again. 

The  soldiers  and  other  people  who  were  there, 
grew  more  and  more  frightened,  saying  again  that 
they  had  killed  the  Son  of  God; 

A  few  hours  afterwards,  towards  night,  Christ's 

friends   took  his    body   down  from   the   cross,   and 

wrapped  it  in  a  nice  linen  cloth,  and  laid  it  away 

8 


58  "THAT   SWEET   STORY  OF   OLD;" 

in  a  new  grave  which  was  cut  out  of  a  rock,  and 
they  rolled  a  great  stone  up  hefore  the  door  of  it. 

A  little  way  off  were  Mary,  Christ's  mother,  and 
Mary  the  mother  of  James,  and  Mary  Magdalene. 
They  did  not  like  to  go  away,  and  there  they  sat 
so  full  of  sorrow  and  tears.  Christ  was  dead,  and 
what  should  they  do?  After  a  while  they  went 
home.  The  next  day  was  the  Sabbath ;  but  they 
said  they  would  come  early  on  the  morning  after 
the  Sa,bbath,  and  bring  sweet  spices  and  ointments 
to  embalm  his  body,  as  the  Jews  used  to  do.  They 
would  not  do  it  on  the  Sabbath,  for  they  wished  to 
keep  the  day  holy. 

On  the  morning  after,  they  took  their  spices  and 
hurried  to  the  grave,  wondering  all  the  way  whom 
they  could  get  to  roll  the  stone  from  the  grave,  for 
it  was  too  heavy  for  them.  But  when  they  came 
to  the  grave  it  was  rolled  away  already,  and  an 
angel  sat  on  the  stone.  His  face  was  bright  as  the 
light.     But  he  spoke  kindly  to  them,  and  said  they 


OR.   THE   HISTORY    OF   JESUS.  59 

must  not  be  afraid.  You  have  come  to  find  Jesus, 
said  he,  but  he  is  not  here;  he  is  risen  from  the 
grave ;   come  and  see  the  place  where  he  lay. 

So  they  looked  into  the  grave.  It  was  almost 
too  g-ood  to  believe  that  he  was  risen;  but  soon 
Christ  met  them,  and  then  they  knew  he  was  alive 
again.  Afterwards  he  came  and  showed  himself  to 
all  his  disciples,  and  ate  and  talked  with  them ;  and 
he  commanded  them  to  go  and  preach  to  every 
body,  and  tell  them  he  had  died  to  make  atone- 
ment for  sinners ;  and  that  if  the  people  believed  on 
him,  and  loved  him,  they  would  be  saved ;  but  if 
they  did  not,  they  must  be  lost. 

He  remained  on  earth,  after  his  resurrection, 
forty  days.  Then,  one  day  as  he  was  walking  out 
with  his  disciples,  and  blessing  them,  they  came  to 
Bethany,  on  the  mount  of  Olives,  about  two  miles 
from  Jerusalem ;  and  there,  while  he  was  yet  bless- 
ing them,  he  began  to  rise  from  the  ground,  and  he 
went  up  higher  and  higher,  till  he  was  out  of  sight. 


60 


THAT   SWEET   STORY    OF   OLD;" 


He  had  gone  back  to  heaven ;   and  as  he  went 
up,  the  angels  that  went  with  him  sang  their  song. 


OR,    THE   HISTORY    OF    JESUS.  61 

and  said,  "  Lift  up  your  heads,  0  ye  gates,  and  the 
King  of  glory  shall  come  in."  And  all  in  heaven, 
both  great  and  small,  cast  their  crowns  at  his  feet, 
and  sang,  ';  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain." 

The  children,  too,  who  were  there  in  great  num- 
bers, many  of  them  the  same  little  boys  who  were 
put  to  death  by  Herod  on  Christ's  account — they 
too  took  off  their  bright  little  crowns,  and  cast  them 
down  before  Christ,  and  sang  with  their  sweet  voices, 
"  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  ;  for  he  was  slain  for  us." 

"Around  the  throne  of  God  in  heaven, 
Thousands  of  children  stand — 
Children  whose  sins  are  all  forgiven, 
A  holy,  happy  band. 

What  brought  them  to  that  world  above, 

That  heaven  so  bright  and  fair, 
AVhere  all  is  peace  and  joy  and  love — 

How  came  those  children  there  ? 

Because  the  Saviour  shed  his  blood 

To  wash  away  their  sin  ; 
Bathed  in  that  pure  and  precious  flood, 

Behold  them  white  and  clean. 


62 


THAT   SWEET   STORY    OF   OLD 


On  earth  they  sought  the  Saviour's  grace, 
On  earth  they  loved  his  name  ; 

So  now  they  see  his  blessed  face, 
And  stand  before  the  Lamb." 


OR,  THE  HISTORY   OF   JESUS 


63 


THE  CHILD'S  DESIEE. 

"I  think,  when  I  read  that  sweet  story  of  old, 

When  Jesus  was  here  among  men, 
How  he  called  little  children  as  lambs  to  his  fold, 

I  should  like  to  have  been  with  them  then. 
I  wish  that  his  hands  had  been  placed  on  my  head, 

That  his  arms  had  been  thrown  around  me, 
And  that  I  might  have  seen  his  kind  look  when  he  said, 

1  Let  the  little  ones  come  unto  me.' 


"Yet  still  to  his  footstool  in  prayer  I  may  go, 
And  ask  for  a  share  in  his  love  ; 
And  if  I  thus  earnestly  seek  him  below, 
I  shall  see  him  and  hear  him  above, 


64  --THAT   SWEET   STORY   OF   OLD." 

In  that  beautiful  place  he  is  gone  to  prepare 
For  all  who  are  washed  and  forgiven  ; 

And  many  dear  children  are  gathering  there, 
'  For  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven.' 

"But  thousands  and  thousands,  who  wander  and  fall, 
Never  heard  of  that  heavenly  home : 
I  should  like  them  to  know  there  is  room  for  them  all, 

And  that  Jesus  has  bid  them  to  come. 
I  long  for  the  joy  of  that  glorious  time, 
The  sweetest  and  brightest  and  best, 
When  the  dear  little  children  of  every  clime 
Shall  crowd  to  his  arms,  and  be  blessed." 

Mrs.  Luke. 


s 


